Pipe thimble



June 16, 1,925. 1,542,480

R. Y. SCRUGGS .PIPE THIMBLE Filed Feb. 16, 1925 Patented June ,16, Y1925. y

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Be-git'lnownthat, Bama Y." Serment; a citizen-'ofthe United* States; and a` resident of Hahira, in the* "county" @Lowndes and State of ,Georgiaiiavenvened a new and useful lm'prove'm'e'rtin- Pipe Thimbles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates particularly to the curing of tobacco in which yart the tobacco plants are suspended in a barn-like structure and subjected to heat treatment to dry them out evenly to a given color to adapt it to the trade.v

The lues commonly used are of stove pipe iron which carries the products of combustion of a furnace, the high heat of which often damages the flues requiring renewal. I have discovered that the life of the lues may be greatly prolonged by connecting them where the joint is made in the curing chamber with a metallic thimble firmly fixed, in a way I will describe, solidly in the masonry at one end of the furnace.

The thimble is preferably made of a substantial thickness to provide a liberal heat storage and of such a construction hereinafter described as will prevent cracking the masonry wall. This thimble which is the cardinal essential of my invention is square or rectangular in cross-section to adapt it to enter readily into the brick-work and at its free end is circular with a sloping wall to provide an easy fit of the stove pipe ue.

Although the invention is primarily adapted to the art of curing tobacco, I desire to have it understood that it is applicable generally in the heating art, as my thimble may be of essential advantage wherever a flue joint is needed in a masonry wall to conduct the products of combustion from a stove or furnace.

My pipe thimble is preferably made in the form of an iron casting abouta quarter of an inch thick, hollow and square or rectangular at one end and round .with a taper at the other. The squared end is provided with a seriesof slots or slits by which the mortar may lock it firmly into the brick-work, the foraminous structure serving the additional advantage of preventing cracking of the brick-work from uneven expansion.

The invention, however, is not limited to a heavy metallic structure as fairly advantageous results may be secured by employing rolled metal such as Swedish iron. The invention, therefore comprises a tubular furnfaee tliinableIrv square"k at onleend@ withA apertureet sidkja's,l and tapering cylindrically atthe otlenwendf'toadmit? cfrady' junctionA with-l a Steve-'pire Y Referring new to the drawings: y

Eiguref 1l' shows arr applicatonrof l vention to a curing chamber for tobacco;

Figure 2 shows an application of my thimble to masonry work; and

Figure 3 shows, in perspective, the structure of the thimble in detail. y

These curing chambers especially as applied in the southern tobacco district are usually a barn-like structure, the walls of which are formed of cheap timber accessible on a farm and provided with some cheap form of restricted ventilation; the tobacco plants are suspended on racks of wood distributed throughout the chamber. A furnace is let into one wall through a cement or brick-work opening and stoked with cheap fire-wood from the front, and the flues are taken within the chamber from the rear of the furnace and distributed through a rectan ular system of pipes of thin sheet iron carrled a short distance from the walls, and connected by a vent through the wallfat the front.

In Figure l the numeral 1 represents in section a curing chamber of the kind described. through the walls with suitable tire protection not indicated. The furnace may be stoked from the front. Cheap form of firewood available on a farm is commonly employed. At the rear is let a central pipe 3 commonly made of sheet iron and connecting with a rectangular system 4 to distribute the hot products of combustion through the 2 represents cheap furnace letk niyinv susv chamber a short distance from its walls, as o indicated in Figure l. This is the ordinary construction employed in the southern tobacco district. The life of the piping is much prolonged, in fact is prolonged three times by the employment of my invention. This is because kthe thin walls of the ues becoming highly heated at the furnacecorrode; I find that it may be largely minimized by providing the joint with an efficient air tight construction and by making it of suiiikcient section as not to rise to overheat. I

thick. The forward end 5 is rectangular in cross-section and cast with appluralitys of oblong holes on'each side as indicatedat'. When it is set with mortar into themasonry the square conformation makes a snug in the brick Work and the mortar threads the holes and firmly locks the Whole in place in,

the brick Work. The free end 7 hasa slight taper and is round in shape, as indicated.

While I prefer to form this of cast metal as described, far better results than ordinarily obtained will follow7 even .if made of thin sheet metal, the essential prerequisite of which is that the structure shall be of a unitary character and preferably integral throughout, thus preventing accidental separationor rupture and assuringlong life of hardusage.4 7 Y f y Having thus fully described myinvention, Vwhat claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

LA pipe thimble for a Jfurnace consisting of a tubular casting rectangular at one end With apertured sides, and a tubular cylindrical extension at the other end.

2. A pipe thimble. consisting of a rectangularcasing open at one end and having apertured sides, and a tapering tubular extensionat its opposite end.

I hereto aiix my signature.

yREMEi-*c Y. soRUGGs. 

